The neighborhood — which has been struggling for years with high turnover from its countless gift stores, business from only one-time visitors and disinterested locals — has sprung a group of passionate residents and business owners that have a newfound interest in reviving the downtrodden neighborhood.

Along with spearheading some minor improvements to the streetscape, they’ve managed to attract some non-Chinese companies and landed what promises to become one of the hottest new restaurants in town — a farm-to-table Chinese eatery from fresh-faced chef Brandon Jew.

“Chinatown has been in need of a serious shot in the arm,” said San Francisco resident Cindy Wong, whose family has a long history in Chinatown. “This restaurant will bring the young Asian crowd and all the techies that are just down the block. And that’s what we need — more reasons to draw back the local crowds.”

Formerly head chef at Bar Agricole — where he received major kudos from the Chronicle’s restaurant critic Michael Bauer — Jew is on a mission to elevate the level of Chinese food in San Francisco. And thanks to the help and encouragement of his new landlord, China Bazaar owner Betty Louie, he has chosen Chinatown to do it.

“After meeting Betty and learning what she wants to do with the neighborhood — that’s my passion as well, to bring interest back into Chinese food,” he said.

As one of Chinatown’s prominent landlords, she chose to break from Chinese culture and tradition — which has kept prices high for outsiders and low for those with family connections — to put her money with her mouth is and make the difficult decision of choosing not to renew the lease on her tenant of 35 years in order to bring in fresh business.

Luckily, she said, the tenant was ready for an out. And Jew jumped on the opportunity right away.

The proposed eatery will be taking over the Four Seas Restaurant at 731 Grant Ave., with a goal of opening in early 2015.

While he wouldn’t reveal too many details about the upcoming restaurant, Jew said he envisions the eatery to be “lighthearted and casual,” while not adhering to typical Chinese portion size and service norms. The menu will inspired by traditional Chinese recipes made with all local ingredients sourced from local farms that he’s in the process of forging relationships with to grow Chinese vegetables.

Jew said his goal is to present the “purest Chinese food” that he can, without importing anything from China. To this end, he plans on making his own tofu, soy sauce, rice vinegar and fermented bean pastes. “Making the Chinese pantry is what I’m trying to do,” he said.

Louie said Jew’s restaurant and other upcoming changes to the neighborhood could finally give locals a good reason to patronize Chinatown’s typically tourist-thronged streets.

“I think his restaurant will be revolutionary to Chinatown,” said Louie, who’s enthusiasm and optimism has inspired other business owners to seek changes that will help uplift the neighborhood.

Since last September, Louie has spearheaded a number of meetings for interested Chinatown business owners and community leaders — the most recent of which took place this week — to talk about what could be done to improve its condition.

And after three well-attended and successful meetings, many things — albeit small — are looking up.

“We’ve definitely made some progress,” she said, adding that the group is starting small to improve Chinatown with some neighborhood beatification projects.

Among the improvements, the group has commissioned a number of murals depicting historic scenes of Chinatown, including on one Clay Street and another on Walter U. Lum Place, to decorate empty street corners and give tour guides another stopping point to talk about the area’s rich history.

The group also decided to plant some greenery on the 600 and 700 blocks of Grant Ave., as well as install brighter light bulbs in the hanging lanterns above — a project that’s estimated to cost around $14,000 for the lights alone, which Louie’s family foundation will fund.

“It’s all about taking small steps that will hopefully encourage rest of the neighborhood to follow,” Louie said.

The meetings, she said, are encouraging more business owners to work together to find solutions for the neighborhood — one of the biggest reasons historically holding the neighborhood back.

“So much of what we want to accomplish requires a lot of networking, getting to know what makes up our group of people who want to see a better and more prosperous Chinatown,” Louie said.

Louie also noted that there are more “Gwai Los” joining the ranks of the storeowners — that’s non-Asians — which could help with diversification of shops and business concepts in the neighborhood. The newest is a fine art consulting firm Artsource Consulting, which will have space for events and special projects.

Louie, who recently retired, said she now spends the majority of her day "trying to figure out what we're going to do about Chinatown," and she will not give up until some change is made.

“Chinatown had a golden age, but it’s all gone,” she said. “Let’s bring it back, I say. That’s hopefully what we’re doing.”